PESHAWAR, March 6: Apart from locational disadvantage, high cost of working capital coupled with some other reasons, are apparently responsible for rendering vast majority of the NWFP- based industrial units to carry out operations much lower than their operational capacity, according to sources.

Some 60 per cent of the 1,300 functional industrial units in the NWFP are operating below their operational capacity.

High cost of financing/working capital and difficulties in obtaining improved technology, specially modern imported technology on the part of NWFP industrialists, were some of the main reasons for rendering majority of the industrial units to carry out operations below their manufacturing capacity, according to official documents.

The locational disadvantage makes the NWFP-based industrialists to bear greater transportation cost to transport the imported raw material from the Karachi seaport.

This results not only in raising the overall cost of production in addition to reducing the competitive value of the NWFP products against the goods manufactured in Punjab and other parts of the country, the locational disadvantage has also been hampering NWFP products’ access to bigger markets of the country.

Similarly, insufficient budgetary measures to cater to the needs of NWFP-based industrial units and federal government’s reluctance to make available freight equalization to the Frontier-based industries have been mentioned in an official document as a reason.